Over the years, there
have been numerous display teams around the world who have taken their names
from the animal kingdom.
The original idea for featuring many of them
in our SMW 2016 "theme" was to present them in a psuedo "Safari Park"-like
setting.... But then, bearing in mind that the majority of these Display Teams
were in the past and no longer exist, this then led - with the obvious play on
words (and apologies to Steven Spielberg !) - to our "Aerobatic Park" !
And so, after building a rendition of "Isla
Nublar" on our stand, the models themselves were displayed amongst the
"mountains" and "rolling plains", grouped loosely into the categories of
"Birds"; "Birds Of Prey"; "Big Cats"; "The Aquarium"; "Insects &
Arachnids", and a "Petting Zoo". To further reinforce the "jungle" effect,
there was also a BlueTooth loudspeaker concealed under the display, playing a
loop of jungle sounds and animal noises over the whole weekend !
It should be noted that all the teams
featured were named after real animals - hence why there are no
Thunderbirds, Snowbirds, Dragons, etc. And no - not actually any
Dinosaurs either....! ;-)
The whole display was presented on an
area of approximately 18 feet x 4.5 feet (5.8m x 1.5m) of table space. There
are a total of 83 models on the entire display - two in 1/32nd scale, four in
1/48th scale and everything else in 1/72nd scale. They were made by 11 of our
members.
"Welcome, to Aerobatic Park
!"
